Apparatus for the manufacture of



May 26, 1942. Hf B. LINE 2,284,489

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF THREAD'OR'TH LIKE Gttomeg May 26, 1942. H. B. KLINE APARVATU'S FOR THE MAUFACTURE OF THREAD OR THE LIKE Filed May 3, 19:58

2 sheets-sheet 2 45 A I l2 l 29 3l Z TMll-L .Summer HAYDEN B. KLINE y dttqmeg Patented May 2s, 1942 UNITED "STATES- "PATENT ori-fica APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTUR OF THREAD R THE LIKE Hayden B. Kline, Lakewood, Ohio, assignor to Industrial Rayon Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Applieaaon May a, 193s, serial No. 205,864

3 Claims.

process of artificial silk thread. Among other advantages, the apparatus of the present invention provides a particularly simple form of construction which, in that it occupies comparatively littlearea, serves in large measure to conserve floor space. In use, all parts of the machine are readily accessible for maintenance, replacement and repair, as Well as for inspection and manipulation of the thread or the like.

In general, the apparatus of the present invention comprises two upwardly extending banks of vertically stacked thread-advancing thread store devices. Each bank preferably includes one or more series of thread-advancing thread store devices so. disposed that the thread or the like, after having been withdrawn from the coagulating 20 vertically stacked relationthat the elements of bath'in which it is formed, is caused, while being subjected to processing treatment, to travel in sequence from device to device. Upon each thread-advancing thread store device, s. considerable length of thread or the like is continuously but temporarily stored in the form of a traveling helix made up of a large number of closely spaced, generally helical turns.

While the apparatus of the invention is equally capable of use in connection with the manufacture of artificial silk thread or the like by any of the known processes; e. g.,.the viscose, cuprammonium, nitrocellulose and cellulose acetate processes, for convenience it is illustrated in the accom anying drawings and will be hereinafter described as employed in the production and processing of viscose artificial silk thread. In such drawings, Figure 1 is an end elevation of the apparatus, partly in section, ralong line I-I of Figure 2. Figure 2 is a partial front elevation along` the line 2-2 of Figure l. Figure 3 is a front elevationl of one of the thread-advancing thread'store'devices employed in the apparatus of the invention. Figure 4 is a section with parts in elevation, along line 4-4 of Figure- 2.

In Figures 1 and 2 of the illustratedV embodimentof the linvention, each thread-5 is formed by the extrusion of viscose from the spinneret 6 in the ooagulating bath 1 contained in the troughy l.- The thread 5 is withdrawn from the coagulating bath 1 by winding it upon 'a thread-advancing thread store device 9 upon which said thread is advanced to a point beyond the edge of the trough l and passes downward to the first of a series of similar devices which are designated by reference characters Il to I8. inclusive. Each 55 member 20. Thus concentric member 2B coni Y (cl. is-a) device in the series 9.to I8, inclusive, is adapted to receive the thread ledto'it, continuously but temporarily store the thread, and positively ad- Vance it lengthwise thereof in' a plurality of closely spaced, generally helical turns. Thread 5, after being advanced along the last device of the series, passes to any suitable means for collecting the thread, such as the cap-twister I9.

I'he thread-advancing thread store devices may 10 take any of several suitable forms, but are preferably thread-advancingI reels of the type illustrated in Figures 3 and 4. Reels of this type are advantageously employed in the apparatus of the present invention because their construction is such as to permit .their support from one end only, leaving' their front ends free and unobstructed. In addition to the fact'that the front ends of all reels are presented to a common front, the reels are so arranged in what may be called each reel are directly beneath the corresponding elements of each preceding reel in the same series, the result of such arrangement being that the apparatus as a whole occupies a relatively small amount of floor space.

Referring now to Figures 3 and 4, the typical reel `illustrated as capable of being advantageously employed in the present invention is generally of thel type shown, described vand claimed in copending application Serial No. 652,089, filed J'anuary 16, 1933, by Walter F. Knebusch ,(Patent No..

2,210,914). The reel comprises two rigid, vgenerally cylindrical members 20 and 2|, of which member 20, whichis referred to as the concentrie member, is`mounted concentrically upon and for rotation with drive shaft 22. Member 2l, which is known as the eccentric member, is ro'- tatably mounted with its axis slightly offset from and inclined to that of the concentric member 40 20. The periphery of concentric member 2li inconcentric member 20 may comprise-a cylindrical body portion 25 which serves to support and lend rigidity to bar members 23. Although there are various means for mounting said concentric member, a cap nut 21 may be employed to hold said member 20 against a suitable shoulder on drive shaft 22. Said concentric member 2l' may 'be made to rotate with the shaft 22 by means of a pin 28 insertedthrough said shaft and seating in a slot 29 in the hub of concentric to it, inclusive, collecting device i9, etc..

sists essentially of arig'id bage member xedly mounted upon shaft 22.

Eccentric member 2l may take the form of a rigid ,cage member, being preferably made up of bar members 24 provided at their outer ends with an internal annular reinforcing ring 3l and at their inner or driving ends with an external annular reinforcing ring 32 by means of which the eccentric member 2l is concentrically mounted upon an annular supporting member 33. Said annular supporting member 33 is rotatably mounted n frame member Sli with its axis in spaced and inclined relationship with respect to the axis of Aconcentric member 2l). Drive shaft 22 may, as shown, be journalled in frame member 3d. A iexible' sealing means 35 may be provided for the purpose of preventing corrosive processing liquids from attacking the bearings and other metal surfaces.

" When the shaft 22 is rotated, concentric member 2t, being mounted upon and fixed thereto, rotates therewith. Eccentric member 2l is rotated by Contact between the interdigitating bar members i3 and of concentric member 2li and eccentric member 2l, respectively. As the reel rotates, the offset relation of the bar members 23 and of the members 2@ and 2l, respectively, causes the thread to be supported first by the bar members of one ofthe cage members and then by the bars of the other. The inclined relationship between the two cage members causes the thread to advance longitudinally of the reel from the supported to the unsupported end thereof in a large number of closely spaced, generally helical turns.

All of the reels shown in the apparatus of .Figures i and 2*. operate in the same manner and are of the same general type as that disclosed in Figures 3 and Li. Preferably they are mounted as shown in Figure 4 with their axes extending very nearly horizontally; i. e., substantially perpendicularly to a vertical plane parallel to the operating face of the machine. In the .illustrated embodiment of the invention, the reels :are not strictly speaking horizontally mounted, since they are tilted upward at a small angle to obtain countercurrent iiow of the respective processing liquids.' If desired, however, the reels could to invention, as indicated in Figure 2, contemplates "a plurality of thread-producing units which may be disposed longitudinally of the machine along i opposite sides of a common coagulating trough il. A single continuous multiple filament thread is formed and processed by each unit of the apparatus,` such unit comprising the spinneret t with its associated mass tube t2 and spinning pumpd, a series of vertically stacked reels 9 Corresponding parts of adjacent similar units are in corresponding positions, which serves also to simplify the construction 'and operating requirements of the pparatus.

Because of he vertically stacked relation of the reels, it is convenient to place two banks of lreels back to back with their free ends facing opposite fronts. Although the vertical arrangement of reels may lend itself to many different forms of apparatus and framework, the type illustrated in the accompanying drawings represents a simple and practical construction.v The frame consists mainly of two vertical beams 3l withv upper, intermediate and lower cross beams 38, Wand M,

respectively. Similar frame members are disposed at either end of the machine and at intervals along the machine and serve to support therebetween a plurality of processing units.

The uppermost cross beam 38's`erves to support the longitudinal channelllll which in turn supports gear boxes d5. Drive shafts t6 extend longitudinally of the machine from a driving means (not shown) driving the uppermost reels 9 in each series by means of gearing in the several gear boxes t5 in which the shafts are journalled. The spinning pumps 43 for each series are actuated by longitudinally extending drive shafts di disposed on either side of the machine. The viscose is fed to spinning pumps t3 from supply pipes t@ running lengthwise and on either side of the ma.. chine. Supply pipes d8 and drive shafts tl are supported by brackets il@ mounted on the upright frame members 3l?.

Brackets i9 serve to support apron 5l and waste trough tt. At spaced intervals along the length of the machine between trough t and the waste trough are provided vertically extending channels Eii; .forY the purpose of guiding the thread ii from the discharge end of reel 9 directly above the entrance to said channel to the reel iti and the succeeding reels in the series to complete the processing of the thread. The thread thus follows a descending path from' reel at the top to reel it at the bottom of the series. inter mediate cross beams- 5:59 carry the longitudinally extending stringers t3 which support the trough t. Each cross beam 35i extends on either side of the trough t beyond the vertical members tli and serves to support a working platform stand hand rail on either side of the machine. Lower platforms it? with hand rails lili are supported as shown by horizontal stringers lll and vertical supports ldd. Platforms 515 and m2 permit the operators to inspect the reels, spinning pumps, mass tubes, spinnerets and other working parts of each thread-producing unit.

Channels @l extend longitudinally of the niachine between the spaced frame members made up of the vertical beams 3l and the cross beams 38, Baand il@ to carry the support brackets or frame members 3d, shown in Figure e.

Each series of reels l il to it, inclusive, supported upon the horizontal channels til, are .driven by means of gears 'd3 and 'lll from the vertical ,drive shaft i5 which issupported in. a vertical position by the bearing brackets it and vertical thrust bearings is carried by the angles ii and channels i9, respectively, which are supported by the vertical frame members ti. Each of the ver. tical drive shafts i5 for each series of reels is driven by the gears t@ and 3l at the lowermost end of each shaft. Gears 8i are driven by the shafts 82 extending the length of the machine on either side thereof and serving to drive the vertical shaft for each series of reels. Sufcient space extending lengthwise of the machine may be left between the vertical shafts to permit workmen to enter and perform such inspection, repair or replacement work asmay be necessary.

The trough a is provided with conduits 56 from which the coagulating liquid is supplied. Drain,l

Each drain pipe 5l advanced upon each of reels I to I6, inclusive,

by a suitable reagent distributor 62 to which the proper reagent is supplied by the conduits 63 extending lengthwise of the machine and providing reagent to the corresponding reels of adjacent series on the same horizontal level. A'

suitable trough 6l, supported below each horizontal series by longitudinally extending angles 65 secured to the vertical frame members 31, serves to collect the liquid. Each trough 64 may be connected with conduits for carrying the liq- `uid to the sewer unless it is desired to re-use the reagent, in which case thev conduit is connected to a suitable recirculating and make-up system.

No reagents are appliedto the thread upon either reel 9 or reel I1, the former being simply a holdingreel and the latter being provided to permit excess liquid to drip from the thread beu fore passing to drying reel 18.

Various methods may be employed for drying the thread after treatment, but the drying reel I8, which is of the general type shown, described and claimed in prior application Serial No. 129,848, of Alden H, Burkholder, for Apparatus for drying thread or the like, now Patent 2,- 189,195, is particularly advantageous. The drying oi the thread stored upon the reel is accomplished by heating the reel by means of some heated iiuid,- in this instance, a heated liquid which passes intoa chamber in the interior of the by a continuous process in that (a) the thready suggest themselves to anyone familiar with such apparatus. In the Ysame way various collecting and twisting devices may beladapted to machinesof the illustrated design.

In placing the machine as a whole in operation, the thread 5 is led from the spinneret B to the supported end of the reel 9, by which it is automatically'advanced toward the unsupported end of the reel in a large number of closely spaced,

generally helical turns. Upon reaching the unsupported end of the reel l,9, the leading end of the thread is caused to pass downward through channel 52 to reel i0, upon which it winds in helical form exactly as in the case of reel 9. On reaching the unsupported end of the reel I0, the leading. end of the thread is removed from the reel by the operator, carried through the eye of guide |05, thence brought at an angle to and through the eye of a second guide (06, and thence conducted to the next succeeding reel. This sequence of operations is performed from time to time as the thread passes over the respective reels until iinally the leading end of the thread, having been discharged from the drying reel I8, is led by the operator to the cap-twister I9, where the thread is caused to collect in the form of a package. l

The apparatus of the instant invention possesses all of the advantages of prior machines adapted to the production of thread or the like advancing thread store devices, preferably reels reel through the hollow drive shaft 61 from va fitting B8 supplied from the inlet conduit 69 which runs the length of the machine. The dry ing medium` after circulating through the reel chamber is returned to the fitting 68 and thence to the outlet conduit 10 which, like inlet conduit 69, runs the full length of the machine and serves a plurality of drying reels. The drying reel I8 may be surrounded by an enclosure 12 which serves to retain the heat.

After being dried upon the drying reel I8, the thread '5v` next passes to the cap-twisting device I9. The apparatus shown includeslifting rails 86 disposed on either side of the. machine which support the bobbin-supporting Whirls 81 for a plurality of cap twisters i9. Guide rods 88 fixed sto the frame members v31 by brackets 8S serve to guide the traverse beam 90 in transmitting a vertical reciprocatory motion to the lifting rails 8S. The vertical \`motion may be imparted to the lifting rails 86 by conventional means shown of cantilever type, are all presented in two oppositely disposed banks with their free ends unobstructed and facing the operators; (b) working platforms are provided to insure to operators safety and ease of operation, inspection and maintenance; and (c) only a minimum amount of skilled labor is necessary to operate the apparatus. In addition tothe aforementioned advantages, an important added advantage is found in the fact that apparatus of the type illustrated occupies a minimum amount of floor space as `compared with other machines designed to accomplish the same or similar results. 1

Thus a machine substantially of the design indicated in the accompanying drawings requires only approximately one-half the'room necessary for any other type of machine for producing Jviscose articial silk thread by a continuous process.` This saving of space becomes of very vital importance when consideration is given to the -fact that most commercial plants involve installations of from 50 to 10G such machines to produce the desired output. A substantial saving struction of buildings in which to house such a whirl 81 and around a presser pulley 98 (Figure 2) freely rotatably mounted on the lifting railV 86 over the entire length of the machine. The presser pulleys '.98 serve to insure a positive driving contact of the belt upon the whirls. Compression pulleys 99 secured to the end vertidal frame member tend lto exerta fixed tension on.

` the belt S6 between the drive'pulley of the motor 91 and the whirls/B'l as the'lifting tail 86 is reciprocated vertically.A The cam 9| may be through change speed gear mechanism 10U.

l rotatably mounted and operated bylthe motor 91v equipment. lIt is readily apparent, therefore, that all of the advantages afforded by machines of presentdesign are provided in the apparatus disclosed herein as Well as the extremely important space-saving factor and simplification of construction with attendant reduction of cost in building both plant and machinery for comy mercial use.

As has been previouslyl indicated, the embodi-' ment of the disclosed invention is only illustrative and is capable of various changes or modiiications without departing from the spirit ofthe invention; It should further be understood that thje invention is not limited to the manufacture of viscose artificial silk thread, but, is applicable tothe production and/or treatment of thread or any thread-like articles which may be manufactured according to a continuous process. Itis intended that the patent shall cover, by suitable expression in the appended claims, whatever features of patentable novelty reside in the invention. l

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for handling thread or thelike comprising a source of thread or the like; a concatenate series of thread-advancing reels of cantilever construction arranged to face in the same general direction each of which operates to advance the thread or the like toward the unsupported end thereof in aplurality of substantially helical turns, said reels being individually inclined from the-horizontal in such manner that the thread-discharge end of each is higher than the thread-receiving end thereof but nevertheless superposed in such manner that their aas/:gasav vertical projections coincide; guide means between adjacent reels; and, in proximity thereto,

collecting means to which thread or the like from said source proceeds after traversing said series of reels.

2. Apparatus as inA claiml including guide means between adjacent reels in which thread or the like being advanced by adjacent reels is caused by said guide means to reverse its direction of travel in proceeding from the rst to the second of said reels. v

3. Apparatus as in claim l including guide means between adjacent reels in which thread or the like which is proceeding between adjacent reels passes over guide means at the threaddischarge end of the rst and other guide means at the thread-receiving end of the second of said reels.

HAYDEN B. KLINE. 

